From the Chopin University Press The Polish Music Center recently received a large package of gifts for our library from our colleagues at the Chopin Music University. Sent by Marzena Radowska, the delivery was filled with fascinating recordings made by musicians associated with this prestigious institution, many of which are award nominees or winners already….Continue Reading PMC Gifts: May/June 2024
Our good colleagues at the Association of Polish Chamber Musicians (SPMK) and the Villa Decius in Kraków are collaborating on the series “Summer Concerts of the Piano Cooperative,” which will take place on Sundays in June (23rd) and August (11th and 25th). The programs of these free concerts celebrate composers’ anniversaries as well as world…Continue Reading Mołodyńska-Wheeler Premiere & Other SPMK Concerts at Villa Decius
On June 24, the 48th J. K. Mertz Guitar Festival in Bratislava brought us world premieres of music written for classical guitar by renowned Polish and Slovak composers. The concert featured a combination of guitar, flute, and string quartet. Polish guitarists Marek Nosal and Jakub Moroźiński performed on stage with musicians from Slovakia—Ondrej Veselý (guitar),…Continue Reading World Premieres of Guitar Music in Bratislava
The manuscript of the Nobel-prize winning epic novel Chłopi [The Peasants], the dethronement act of Tsar Nicholas I, the “golden bull” of the Polish language from 800 years ago, the works of Henryk Wars, the legacy of Jerzy Kukuczka and 12 other priceless historical documents were included this year on the UNESCO Memory of the…Continue Reading Exhibition: “Memory of Poland. UNESCO Memory of the World Program National List – 5th Edition”
On June 26 at the Belweder—the Presidential Palace in Warsaw—the 2024 UNESCO Pamięć Świata/Memory of the World ceremony will take place. The palace’s elegant ballroom will be filled to capacity with distinguished guests, among them Marek Zebrowski, representing the USC Polish Music Center and Dennis Mitchell, grandson of Henryk Wars (1902-1977). Poland’s President, Andrzej Duda,…Continue Reading UNESCO Honors PMC Archives
The world-renowned chamber ensemble, Sinfonietta Cracovia, is gearing up for its 30th anniversary celebration. These celebrations will last a full year of programming, but the spring 2024 season featured a special highlight concert on July 9. Held at the Kraków Philharmonic, the program featured several outstanding artists associated with the ensemble, as well as the…Continue Reading Sinfonietta Cracovia Anniversary & Majkusiak Premiere
On June 8, the Selesian Quartet will be having a concert at NOSPR Hall in Katowice. This program is a part of their series entitled “Silesian Quartet. Masterpieces with Polish Counterpoint,” and will be dedicated to composer Andrzej Panufnik’s 110th birthday. June 8th is also the birthday of Arkadiusz Kubica, co-founder of the Silesian Quartet,…Continue Reading Silesian Quartet & Panufnik
The Polish saxophone quartet known as the ‘WHOOP Group’ will perform incredible arrangements of works by notable Polish composers such as Mieczysław Weinberg, Krzysztof Komeda and Ignacy Jan Paderewski. This performance will take place on the stage of the Zielona Gora Philharmonic on June 8, 2024 at 7pm. For more information and a detailed program…Continue Reading All-Polish Program for Saxophone Quartet
Founded in London in November of 1945 and headquartered in Paris, UNESCO—the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization—is an agency that aims to promote world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences, and culture. Thanks to the PMC’s longstanding relationship with the National Archives in Poland, we have learned of the…Continue Reading UNESCO and its Polish History and Culture Program
Worldwide celebrations of composer Elżbieta Sikora’s eightieth birthday year continue apace. On May 15, France’s Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM), one of the world’s largest public centers dedicated to musical creation and scientific research, published an extensive article summarizing Sikora’s life and oeuvre. Author Michèle Tosi used a telling quote for the article’s…Continue Reading Sikora Fêted by IRCAM